The Pope - Does he tactically ex-communicate?

[caravel]

I have never taken him out myself, mainly because since I (for the most part) play non-catholic games, and find more convenient to have a crippled pope than a dead one that will reemerge in full strenght. Mainly because I saw one papal resurrection that was a bit worrying: The Italians sçuikked him, and he came back in the middle of an Italian Civil War. He resurged with huge armies from Sicily to Venice. Maybe it was due to the civil war (AKA: those provinces were regarded as "rebel"), but it gives me nightmares the idea of the pope carving out a huge chunk of my territories without prior warning.

Yes, if you leave him alone he continues training multiple units of ballistas and then launches a 'daring' invasion of Greece, as he did in my last Turks campaign. The papacy never get very dangerous as a faction unless they're wiped out and reappear.

Does anyone know if this reemergence is limited to former Papal provinces that either are rebel or are rebellion prone to begin with? Or will the pope reappear in ALL his former provinces every single time, thus making it a must keeping him alive just to save the lands he formerly owned?

Same as any other reappearance. Any former provinces in which they had good loyalty are possible sites for a reappearance.